LOUISIANA TECH’S DOWDELL EARNS WAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS
Louisiana Tech forward Shanavia Dowdell has been named the Western Athletic Conference Women’s Basketball Player of the Week for Dec. 8-14. This is the first WAC Player of the Week honor of the season for Dowdell.
The junior from Calera, Ala., led the Lady Techsters to a pair of wins last week after averaging 24.5 points on 78 percent shooting (21-of-27), 7.5 rebounds, 4.0 blocks and 1.0 steals per game. In her first game back after missing one and a half games due to injury, she scored 29 points, grabbed nine rebounds and blocked six shots in a 75-46 win over Grambling State. She followed that up by scoring 20 points, grabbing six rebounds and blocking two shots in only 22 minutes of action in a win over Sam Houston State.
Other nominees included: Boise State’s Brittany Moore averaged 15.5 points and 3.0 rebounds as the Broncos went 1-1 last week ... Marnique Arnold of Fresno State averaged 16.5 points and 6.5 rebounds on the week ... Utah State’s Danyelle Snelgro scored 16 points and grabbed nine rebounds in a double-overtime loss to BYU.
BULLDOGS LEAD NATION IN THREE-POINT FIELD GOAL AVERAGE
In statistics through Dec. 14 games, Fresno State leads the nation in three-point field goals per game, with an average of 9.4 per game. The Bulldogs have had 10 or more treys in five of eight games this season, including a WAC record 16 vs. UC Santa Barbara on Nov. 20.
PLAY UP TOUR DATES ANNOUNCED
The WAC, in continuation of the Play Up campaign, has announced its dates for the women’s basketball Play Up Tour for the 2008-2009 season. WAC staff members will be on site to distribute WAC giveaway items. Fans will also have the opportunity to sign up to win a WAC prize pack that includes WAC apparel and other WAC related items. All fans that enter the drawing will be eligible for the grand prize of a WAC Basketball Tournament package. The package includes two tickets to the tournament, airfare and hotel accommodations. The winner will be announced at the end of February.
The following are the dates and times of each of the 2009 Play Up Tour stops. All times are local and subject to change.
Sunday, Jan. 18 ? Las Cruces, N.M.
Fresno State at New Mexico State, 2 p.m.
Sunday, Jan. 25 ? San Jose, Calif.
Nevada at San Jose State, 2 p.m.
Louisiana Tech at Boise State, 2 p.m.
Utah State at Hawai?i, 5 p.m.
Friday, Jan. 30 ? Logan, Utah
Hawai?i at Utah State, 7 p.m.
Sunday, Feb. 1 ? Fresno, Calif.
Utah State at Fresno State, 2 p.m.
Sunday, Feb. 8 ? Reno, Nev.
Utah State at Nevada, 2 p.m.
Friday, Feb. 13 ? Ruston, La.
Hawai?i at Louisiana Tech, 7 p.m.
Sunday, Feb. 15 ? Moscow, Idaho
San Jose State at Idaho, 2 p.m.
Boise State Broncos (5-6, 0-0 WAC)
The Broncos went 1-1 last week, defeating Idaho State (65-58) before falling to Loyola Marymount (72-68) ... Brittany Moore led the Broncos with a team-high 14 points vs. Idaho and a career-high 17 points at Loyola Marymount ... Boise State is now without the services of three starters - Jessica Thompson, Tasha Harris and Ja’Lara Walker. The trio has a combined 200 starts - 97 by Harris, 83 by Thompson and 20 by Walker ... Rebecca Kepilino, a starter last year at power forward before suffering a season-ending injury, saw her first action of the year at Montana and has now played in three games ... The Broncos play at Santa Clara on Saturday in their only game this week.
Fresno State Bulldogs (6-3, 0-0 WAC)
The Bulldogs went 1-1 last week, defeating Cal State Northridge (68-29) before falling at No. 3/4 Stanford (100-62) ... Marnique Arnold averaged 16.5 points on 57 percent shooting and 6.5 rebounds on the week ... Arnold had a career-high 21 points against Stanford ... The 29 points allowed against Northridge were the fewest by a Bulldog opponent since a 53-22 victory over Cal Poly in the 1974-75 season ... The Bulldogs held the Matadors to 20 percent shooting and allowed only 12 field goals ... The 29 points Northridge scored is also the fewest by a WAC opponent this season ... The Bulldogs host Loyola Marymount on Thursday and West Virginia on Saturday.
Hawai?i Rainbow Wahine (2-7, 0-0 WAC)
The Rainbow Wahine were idle last week due to finals ... In their most recent action, Keisha Kanekoa was named to the Arizona State Classic all-tournament team after averaging 19.0 points, 9.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists in the two games. It was her second all-tournament honor of the year ... For the second straight year, volleyball standout Tara Hittle will be joining the team. Hittle started at libero all season for UH, which advanced to the Regional Finals last weekend before falling to second-seeded Stanford ... Hawai?i hosts Washington State on Friday. It is the first of two consecutive home games against the Cougars.
Idaho Vandals (3-6, 0-0 WAC)
The Vandals went 1-1 last week, defeating Pacific (61-51) before falling to Washington State (53-50) ... Yinka Olorunnife averaged 11.5 points and 8.5 rebounds on the week ... Idaho had six players with eight or more points vs. Pacific ... Against the Cougars, the Vandals turned the ball over a season-high 27 times and attempted a season-low 39 shots ... Idaho held the Cougars, who entered the game as the nation’s 25th-best scoring team, 23 points below their average ... Idaho has three two-sport athletes on the team - Elizabeth Barth (volleyball), Liz Boyden (soccer) and Anna Sandman (soccer) ... The Vandals play at Montana State on Saturday in their only game this week.
Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters (5-5, 0-0 WAC)
The Techsters went undefeated last week, beating Grambling State (75-46) and Sam Houston State (82-59) ... Shanavia Dowdell averaged 24.5 points on 78 percent shooting, 7.5 rebounds, 4.0 blocks and 1.0 steals in the two games ... Tech ranks among the national leaders in blocked shots per game (6.6), field goal percentage defense (.334) and three-point field goal percentage defense (.192) ... Tech has three players averaging double figures - Dowdell (17.1 ppg), Whitney Jones (14.3 ppg) and Adrienne Johnson (12.9 ppg) ... Tech is idle this week after falling 51-41 at LSU on Monday.
Nevada Wolf Pack (4-5, 0-0 WAC)
The Pack were idle last week ... Brandi Jones had her high school jersey retired at a ceremony at Canyon Springs High School in Moreno Valley, Calif. Jones helped lead Canyon Springs to a 31-4 record her senior year, including a school record 25-game winning streak ... Jones is poised to become Nevada’s second active player with 1,000 career points. She currently has 913 and is averaging 10.6 per game. Jones would join Dellena Criner, who has 1,303 career points, as the two active Pack players with 1,000 or more career points ... Nevada plays at Santa Clara on Thursday and hosts UC Riverside on Sunday.
New Mexico State Aggies (4-4, 0-0 WAC)
The Aggies were idle last week ... Seven of NMSU’s next eight games are on the road ... Madison Spence (16.1) and Danisha Corbett (15.4) are both averaging more than 15 points per game ... The Aggies shot a season-high 51 percent in their last game, a win over UTEP on Dec. 7 ... NMSU is 4-1 this season when scoring more than 60 points in a game and 50-19 all-time under head coach Darin Spence when they go for at least 60 ... New Mexico State is looking for its first road victory this season when they play at Northern Colorado Tuesday, which is its first game nine days ... The Aggies also host New Mexico on Saturday.
San Jose Spartans (1-8, 0-0 WAC)
The Spartans went 0-2 last week, falling to No. 7/9 California (76-40) and to Cal State Bakersfield (78-59) in the Basketball by the Bay Classic ... In the loss to Bakersfield, the Roadrunners used an 18-0 first-half run after the Spartans had taken back a one-point lead to claim the victory ... After being held scoreless vs. the Bears, Natalie White collected a team-high 17 points, going a perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw line, vs. CS Bakersfield ... The Spartans are tied with Idaho for the second least-experienced team in the nation behind Tennessee-Martin ... The Spartans play at Pepperdine on Sunday in their only game this week.
Utah State Aggies (4-4, 0-0 WAC)
The Aggies fell in double overtime at Brigham Young (61-60) in their only game last week ... Danyelle Snelgro led all scorers with 16 points and nine rebounds in 47 minutes ... It was the Aggies’ first-ever double overtime game ... Four of the Aggies’ five starters are among the leaders in the WAC in minutes played. Snelgro is second behind Idaho’s Charlotte Otero, averaging 38.71 minutes per game. Ana Pares is fourth, averaging 36.43, while Nicole Johnson rounds out the trio with 31.71 minutes per game, which places her in 14th ... The Aggies host Portland State on Tuesday and Southern Utah on Saturday.
FRESNO STATE UPSETS NO. 22 TCU
Fresno State rallied for a 75-71 victory over No.22 TCU Dec. 4 in front of 2,288 fans. The Bulldogs trailed 69-53 with 6:20 remaining in the game before going on a 22-2 run to earn the victory. TCU led by as many as 18 points with 3:31 left in the first half. The win is the first victory over a nationally ranked opponent since December 1, 2006, when the Bulldogs defeated No. 23 Texas Tech. It is only the third win against a ranked team in the last 16 years. Hayley Munro had a career-high 23 points and eight rebounds while Joh-Teena Filipe came off the bench to score 14 points and grab six rebounds. Marnique Arnold had her second-straight double-double, finishing with 10 points and a career-best 14 rebounds. LaShay Fears had nine assists to zero turnovers. The Bulldogs won the battle of the boards as they had 44 to the Lady Frogs’ 34.
NEVADA GETS FIRST-EVER WIN OVER RANKED TEAM
Nevada recorded the biggest win in program history Nov. 29, beating No. 7 Louisville 85-82. It was the Wolf Pack’s first-ever win over a ranked team and the highest ranked team Nevada had ever faced. The previous highest ranked teams Nevada had played were No. 8 Louisiana Tech (2003-04), No. 9 Cal (2008-09) and No. 11 Louisiana Tech (2002-03).
SJSU’S WHITE REACHES 1,000-POINT PLATEAU
The Spartans’ Natalie White scored her 1,000th career point on a three-pointer at the 4:27 mark of the second half against Sacramento State on Nov. 28. Making the game even more memorable was the fact that she hit the game-winning basket as time expired to give San Jose State its first win of the season. White is just the 12th player in school history to reach the 1,000-point plateau.
NEVADA’S ALBRIGHT EARNS WIN 400
In her first year at Nevada and 25th overall, Wolf Pack head coach Jane Albright earned her 400th career win against Northern Iowa on Nov. 28, becoming just the 39th Division I coach to reach 400 victories. The following night, she earned win No. 401 against No. 7 Louisville. Four of her wins have come at Nevada, 48 at Wichita State, 161 at Wisconsin and 188 at Northern Illinois.
BOISE STATE FAVORED IN PRESEASON POLLS
Boise State, the 2007-08 WAC regular season co-champion and tournament title winner, was selected as the favorite by both the coaches and the media in the WAC preseason polls. The Broncos received five of the nine first-place votes in the coaches poll and 15 of the 22 top votes in the media poll.
PRESEASON ALL-WAC TEAMS ANNOUNCED
The coaches selected Nevada senior guard Dellena Criner as the WAC’s preseason Player of the Year, while the media tabbed Boise State senior guard Tasha Harris as the league’s top player. In the coaches poll, Criner and Harris were joined on the first team by Louisiana Tech junior forward Shanavia Dowdell, and Fresno State sophomores Hayley Munro and Jaleesa Ross. Second-team selections include Brandi Jones (Nevada), Danyelle Snelgro (Utah State), Madison Spence (New Mexico State), Natalie White (San Jose State) and Tarkeisha Wysinger (Louisiana Tech). The media’s all-WAC team included Criner, Dowdell, Harris, Ross and Spence.
NEVADA TO HOST 2009 WAC TOURNAMENT
Reno and the University of Nevada will host the 2009 WAC Tournament, March 10-14. It will be the third time that Nevada has hosted the event. Nevada also hosted the tournament in 2005 and 2006. The tournament features all nine men’s and women’s teams.
KEY NON-CONFERENCE MATCHUPS
The WAC has several key non-conference match-ups this season. WAC teams will play at least 24 games against teams that advanced either to the NCAA Tournament or the Women’s National Invitational Tournament (WNIT) last season. WAC teams will face three of the four teams that advanced to last year’s Final Four. Fresno State travels to Stanford, while Hawai?i hosts the Cardinal. Meanwhile, Louisiana Tech takes on both LSU and Tennessee on the road.
Games vs. 2007-08 Postseason Teams:
Idaho at Texas Tech, Nov. 14
Nevada at California, Nov. 16
Montana at Idaho, Nov. 18
New Mexico State at UTEP, Nov. 20
UC Santa Barbara at Fresno State, Nov. 20
Idaho State at Utah State, Nov. 22
Louisiana Tech at Tennessee, Nov. 23
Purdue at Hawai?i, Nov. 29
Stanford at Hawai?i, Nov. 30
Western Kentucky at Louisiana Tech, Nov. 30
TCU at Fresno State, Dec. 4
New Mexico State at New Mexico, Dec. 4
Nevada at UC Santa Barbara, Dec. 5
Boise State at Montana, Dec. 7
UTEP at New Mexico State, Dec. 7
Idaho State at Boise State, Dec. 10
California at San Jose State, Dec. 12
Fresno State at Stanford, Dec. 13
Louisiana Tech at LSU, Dec. 15
West Virginia at Fresno State, Dec. 20
New Mexico at New Mexico State, Dec. 20
Nevada at Montana, Dec. 30
Colorado at Hawai?i, Jan. 4
New Mexico State at Kansas, Jan. 4